72 – Episode 72. Transcontinental Train (2)
“…This. Keeps, moving.”
The box handed over by Mi Jeong.
The black magestone, Cali’s soul gem, is continuously shaking.
Right now, my head is spinning.
While it’s a situation where I’m on the verge of gagging and can’t tell right from wrong,
I have a strong feeling that the black magestone can solve this situation.
“Damn. Open it.”
“…Okay.”
With no time to ponder, I issue a command to Mijeong.
At the moment Mijeong flips the latch on the wooden box, a black mana stone springs out with a hollow pop.
Even after hitting the ground, the stone continues to tremble like an electric motor.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
The moment I reach out to touch the peculiar mana stone.
A system window appears before my eyes.
[Mass Accumulation will commence.]
“······!”
From the train’s floor, black energy begins to seep and crawl.
Mana.
The same mana used for casting spells and applying curse effects.
The mana writhes upwards, swirling in the air.
Then it’s swiftly sucked into the black mana stone as if into a black hole.
All the mana flowing throughout the train hurries into the stone, and the vibrations stop.
Simultaneously, the headache and dizziness disappear without a trace.
My muddled mind clears.
The dense mana, along with the curse effects, is entirely eradicated.
“Tsssaaah······.”
Only now can I breathe again.
Taking a deep breath.
To be certain, I place my hand on the floor again and use a query.
[Transcontinental Train]
[Status: Worn]
[A large passenger train operating from Gallia in the Southern Continent to Palana in the Northern Continent.]
The word ‘curse’ is gone from the status.
It seems the mana was sucked into the mana stone, breaking the spell.
Swallowing nervously, I touch the stone again.
[Accumulated: 2,850/62,500]
The accumulation has noticeably increased.
Last time it was definitely 80. So, it’s increased by about 2800, right?
‘This thing, it doesn’t just consume magic power, it consumes magic itself.’
Thinking about it, the description of the magic stone didn’t specify it could only accumulate magic power.
I just mistakenly assumed that magic power was the only thing it could accumulate.
I hadn’t even imagined it could be charged with magic itself.
Considering that this magic stone was born when Calley’s magic stone condensed, this result might be expected.
‘As much as 2800…’
Anyway, that’s a tremendous amount.
It’s an amount you can gather by pouring the power I amplified as a guardian knight for more than ten days.
Of course, one cannot equate magic power and magic 1:1, but that’s the approximation when calculated.
“Well done.”
“……Peace.”
As if waiting for praise, Mijeong immediately shows a ‘V’ sign with a poker face. She roughly ruffles her hair and gets up.
Glancing around the guest room, I see the passengers wh
The issue is how to find him…
“Tsk…”
Even after inspecting the compartment, it’s hard to tell who’s suspicious.
If only I could use ‘Inquiry’ on people too.
Regrettably, that’s impossible.
So how should I find him then?
There are not just one or two compartments to search, but more than a dozen.
‘I don’t have much time.’
The moment the train stops at the next station.
He will jump off and escape.
So, I should find him before we reach the next station…
“Ah.”
I got it.
I don’t know where he is now.
But it’s clear where he’s heading.
The engine room.
The train is still running at full speed.
The only way the culprit can escape is when the train stops.
And right now, there exists a way to stop the train immediately.
If you press the brakes from the engine room, it’s done.
If it’s the method I came up with, he must be thinking the same.
“We’ll go to the engine room. Follow me.”
“…Okay.”
Taking Mijeong’s hand, we hurriedly head to the front of the train.
Towards the engine room.
We must get there before him.
To hit the brakes on a running train, we’ll need to subdue the station staff.
If he gets there first, there could be casualties.
“Vice-captain, are you alright?”
“Eh, I’m fine. What on Earth is…”
Passing through the noisy dining car.
Past the ordinary compartments, and then through the first-class ones.
Soon, I confront a door latched with a padlock.
But I haven’t come to the end yet.
What lies ahead is the freight car.
Only after passing through the freight car can I reach the engine room.
“It’s unlocked…”
But the padlock is simply hanging there, already unlocked.
Without resistance, the door opens as I turn the knob.
It means he has already passed through here.
“Tsk!”
The moment I violently swing the door open.
The gales from outside envelop me.
Right now, I’m atop a bridge cutting through a strait between the southern and northern continents.
The wind is quite fierce because this is by the sea.
As I’m about to open the door to the next compartment, the freight car.
“What’s the problem. Why isn’t it opening?”
The door won’t open.
Is it locked from the inside?
No, that’s not likely.
If he was the type to thoroughly lock doors, he would have locked the one I’ve just opened.
So that only shortens where he could’ve gone.
Towards the top.
“Mi Jung. Hop on.”
“…Okay.”
Hoisting Mi Jung onto my back, we leap upwards.
The moment I grab onto the wall and scramble up.
I spot one person unsteadily standing on the roof of the train.
“I’ve got you now. You little…”
“…?!”
A woman dressed in black nun robes.
As she looks back, her pale face is revealed.
Is she a shaman pretending to be a nun?
Even though the church treats shamanism as witchcraft and strictly prohibits it, the sin seems fairly grave.
“Raise your hands high and kneel. Otherwise, I’ll have to ring the bell.”
“……”
She puts down Mijung, reaching down to her waist.
As she grasps the bag hanging at her waist, it gradually transforms into a longsword.
She draws her sword and aims, the rogue glaring at me with a defiant expression.
“So, it was you who cursed me.”
“Don’t have much to say, do you? How old are you?”
“Are you really discussing age? Can’t tell who’s the blockhead here…”
“It’s none of my business what race you are. Raise your hands now, before I slash your throat.”
One must never let their guard down with a woman.
She could be in disguise after all.
In fantasy worlds, it’s always warned to be cautious of the elderly, women, and children.
Or was it not there?
Anyway.
“hehehe……”
Surprisingly, the nun gently raises her hands.
Is she surrendering?
But it’s too early to relax.
‘Maybe I should try a weak point.’
Looking at her age, she seems like an elf.
From Noble mtl dot com
But for precautions, I activate the trait, the weak point.
Then, her body should be brightly marked with weaknesses…
‘What’s this. Why isn’t it working.’
I can’t see the weakness.
Everything is just gray in the view from the weak point.
There’s not a trace of red to be seen.
How could this be?
Every creature has a vital point.
Even the corpse of Mijeong has visible weaknesses. What is that thing doing?
“There’s a gap!”
“······!”
In the blink of an eye, as my eyes opened and closed.
His battle formation surged forward, charging at me.
He’s fast.
Not just fast, but insanely quick.
But after amplifying my stats as a guardian knight and preheating my body with magical control, it was not enough to take down me.
It’s already within the range of my long sword. It’s too late to swing my sword.
I block the nun’s sweeping hand, and at the same time, I draw out my dagger.
“Ah!”
Pook!
The point of the sword plunges deep into the nun’s abdomen, and a brief scream of utter despair erupts from her.
I could feel the sensation of piercing her skin and tearing through her intestines.
I’ve got her good.
This at least proves that it’s not a marionette doll.
“Ahh, ah…”
The vigor drains from her face, which rapidly f
“There’s no way…”
She is a creature without a vital point.
So, she couldn’t be making a fuss just because she got a shallow cut in a non-vital area.
“Why…?”
Just as I suspected.
The nun’s expression distorts, expressing her disgust.
To be honest, her acting wasn’t bad.
If she hadn’t had a weak point, I would have fallen for it.
But it had to be me who caught her.
She was out of luck.
“I will arrest you. If you have any complaints, deal with the police when we reach the station. For now, just quietly-“
“Behind you!”
Just then, Mijeong’s sharp voice echoed.
As I turned my head.
I found a tentacle, growing up from the nun’s ankle, racing up my blind spot targeting my head.
“Huh?!”
“Kahahahaha! I could have killed you! How unfortunate!”
Although I managed to dodge the tentacle flying fiercely at me…
In the meantime, the nun, letting out a bone-chilling laugh, shakes off my hand and runs away.
I stretch my arm out to grasp her immediately, but all I grab is empty air.
In front of me, the nun’s empty robe collapses down, she has disappeared.
“What?!”
I thought she used a similar 9th tier magic like teleportation.
From under the nun’s robe, a black figure slowly crawls out.
A black moth.
A moth as big as Mijeong.
“See you!”
With that, the moth swiftly jumps off the train roof.
It seemed like I missed the moth as it dropped down beneath the strait.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“……?”
Its body is floating aimlessly in the air.
Despite flailing its many legs, it only moves futilely in the void.
It does not fall but instead, it’s immediately in front of my nose.
“Uh, what?”
Fifth rank attributeless magic, psychokinesis.
Basic magic.